Big Ten Media Days: Michigan State Will Be Meaningful Opponent for Nebraska

The Michigan State game will have special significance to Nebraska football in 2026.

After the Huskers open with three nonconference games, they travel to East Lansing on Sept. 26 for their first Big Ten game of the season, their first road game and new Spartans coach Pat Fitzgerald’s first conference game at MSU.

For Nebraska, Michigan State can be an early-season measuring stick. That first road game almost always is a test. Same with the Big Ten opener.

How will the Huskers react to playing in a hostile stadium? Spartan Stadium can be as rowdy as any in the Big Ten.
How will the Huskers react to increased competition after the three non-conference games?
How will the Spartans perform in their first Big Ten game under Pat Fitzgerald?

Fitzgerald will fire up his team

Fitzgerald is an emotional coach, a motivator. He coached 17 seasons at perpetually outmanned Northwestern. He won three Big Ten West Division titles and went 110-101, 65-76 in the Big Ten.

“I wouldn’t say I have a chip on my shoulder; I wouldn’t say our program has a chip on its shoulder. I would say we have a bag of chips on our shoulder. I’ll leave it at that,” Fitzgerald said at the podium Wednesday at the Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.

“We’re going to take the green back to being Big Ten champions. Expectations are to win the Big Ten championship. Full stop. And if a head coach walks up here and he doesn’t say that, then I’d want to check their pulse.”

Fitzgerald lost his Northwestern job in July 2023, when his team was involved in a hazing scandal. He was ultimately cleared, and wound up getting a settlement. He was hired by Michigan State in December.

Fitzgerald was an All-America linebacker for Northwestern. He played for the Wildcats from 1993 to 1996.

Michigan State's new football coach, Pat Fitzgerald, pats his heart at the crowd for the Spartans basketball game against Iowa in December. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“I wasn’t going to walk to East Lansing, I was going to sprint,” said Fitzgerald, who said he feels great about the Spartans’ competitive depth, as he rebuilds the Spartans. MSU was 4-8 and 1-8 in the Big Ten last season.

Michigan ranked 17th in the Big Ten preseason media poll. Nebraska ranked 11th. Nebraska is 10-4 against the Spartans. Fitzgerald is 3-4 against the Huskers.

Experienced quarterback

Spartans quarterback Alessio Milivojevic played nine games last season. He played well against Nebraska in a backup role, completing 6-of-7 passes for 71 yards and one touchdown. Nebraska won the game at Memorial Stadium, 38-27, the Huskers outscoring the Spartans, 17-6, in the fourth quarter.

For the season, Milivojevic completed 111-of-173 passes (64.2 percent) with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Fitzgerald praised Milivojevic as the unequivocal team leader. “He’s just got all the leadership skills that you’re looking ...and we’re excited for him to lead our football team this year.

“We are going to play smart, we are going to play tough, we are going to play with discipline. That’s what we’ve been working on the entire offseason,” Fitzgerald said, in a message that might also describe the way he played and coached throughout his career.

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